Kdg Orientation and the 1st day of school

Paton went to his kindergarten orientation on Thursday. It was a great was to get introduced to the school , teachers and kids. He brought all of his supplies and got to sit at his new desk. He seemed happy, but he usually isn't overly emotional, so I couldn't really tell. In this first picture, he looks a bit nervous.

Here are the 3 musketeers on the first day, Tuesday, September 2nd. It was a big day for everyone and we were all up early and excited. For Jimmy it was his first day at the new Edison and his first day taking a bus to school.

For Payton, it was his first day of kindergarten, enough said.

And for Rea, it was her first day with out her boys after a whole summer with them, and her first day without Payton, after a 3 yer lifespan. I think she cried harder than all of them when it was time to go :0(

Payton's day went well, again, not overly excited, but he enjoyed his day and was happy to show us his homework and tell us about a few things they did. Here is a picture of Jim getting Payton from "the box" on the first day.

Now poor Jimmy, this was probably one of the most messed up days the poor kid has experienced! The "fun" (said in a VERY sarcastic tone) began at 6:50 am when he got to the bus stop. This is where he (we) waited, and waited and waited and waited, for a bus that NEVER showed up!!!

Jimmy ended up spending the first day of 5th grade with tthe 5th graders at Thorp. He was so calm and good natured about it, but I knew where he would have rather been.

It was a good learning experience for him though, and he made new friends that might live in our neighborhood.

So the 2nd day rolls around and the bus fails to show for day 2. Today we decide that Jim will drive him to school and so Jimmy gets to class in the middle of 1st period. At least he made it! Jim picked him up on Wednesday since the bus didn't show at the school for over an hour.

By this morning, not being hopeful the bus was coming, it was a pleasent surprise to hear it picked Jimmy up and even better to hear that it was a new company and they were driving the route with an Edison parent and plan to make this work.

So after a few frustrating days, it looks like there is a little light at the end of the tunnel and we are going to continue to chug along.

a Bandit in our lives

it's been over a week now and Bandit Buttersworth Dalessandro is officially part of our family. Or should I say pack, since we are now an official pack since there is a dog involved :0)

Last Tuesday, it was my first day back to work after our trip to Michigan and I was having a little case of vacation longing. I wasn't to thrilled about getting back to the office, but I knew the day would go by fast since I would be playing 3 days of catch up.

So as I am working away, about to get up for lunch, I receive a call from Jim. He says, "So I was telling the kids how they will never be able to get a dog if they don't keep their toys put away and that the dog would eat them so they have to get better at cleaning up. So we cleaned up the house and were about to walk over to Jewel for a few things." (Remember, we were on vacation for 5 days) "So we walk outside and get about 3 houses down and there is this dog sniffing around Jim (Shiloh's dad's) house. He has no leash, no tags and there are no people around. We knocked on every door and no one knows who he is. But he is a good looking dog. Clean, puppy like. Very friendly. Jim gave us a leash, so I guess we are not going to Jewel right now."

I can tell you when I heard that from Jim, I was so excited. How wonderful that Jim is concerned about this dog and he wants to find his home! I would appreciate that so much if someone took my dog under it's wing and made sure he got home. At the time, I was in no way thinking that this dog was homeless and it could even be my dog. We were only "talking" about getting a dog... no decisions had been made. Only lofty discussions about what if and when and maybe we could...

As the day went on, it became more evident to me that is dog didn't have a home, but I knew once I got home we would bring him to the vet to see if he was chipped. Lo and behold he wasn't and the cute little guy just seemed to weave himselve into our lives. He was good inside the house, appeared to be house broken and had such a calm demeanor. He ended up spending the first night in the house. He slept in the front room the whole night and hasn't left since.

I tthink this was a little divine intervention and a pleasent gift from God. It shows me that He always knows what we need and will provide for us no matter what.

This dog found us and I am so pleased to be called his owner.

Bandit has proven that he needs training, but he is a calm presence that has brought more love, laughter and joy to our lives and is teaching our family to become a bit more laid back and have more fun with each other.

Thank you for this gift.